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The Beach(es)

christiesplits

christiesplits

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I started a thread on the Upper Beach(es) concerning the boundaries, so I thought I’d start one for The Beach(es) as well.

Whenever I'm in the neighbourhood I'm constantly amazed by the sheer pride the residents hold for their east-end community. From the endless "Beach" bumperstickers on caravans and Leuty lifeguard station flags hanging off porches, I was wondering whether or not any neighbourhood in TO can claim to demonstrate more pride towards their immediate environs than The Beach(es)?
 
As a resident of the Beaches for the last couple years the only area I've seen come close is Cabbagetown, where you see a number of those cabbage flags.

The Beaches is one of the most isolated of the old Toronto neighbourhoods. The lake is to the south and east, and until recently the areas to the north and the west were very industrial. It is also very disconnected from the subway. I think this helped build the strong local community.
 
Republic of Rathnelly is another

SimonP said:
As a resident of the Beaches for the last couple years the only area I've seen come close is Cabbagetown, where you see a number of those cabbage flags.

The Beaches is one of the most isolated of the old Toronto neighbourhoods. The lake is to the south and east, and until recently the areas to the north and the west were very industrial. It is also very disconnected from the subway. I think this helped build the strong local community.
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I know they have a lot of pride in their pocket. Which also brings up The Pocket (east of Jones at Phin Park, south of Danforth). They have a lot of activities centered on the park.
 
Darkstar416 said:
I'm wondering if the name of this thread should just be changed to "The Beach" as that is what the neighbourhood finally decided on last year. Any objections?
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Heh. I object... :p

I still have a very hard time calling it "The Beach", not only because I've called it "The Beaches" ever since I moved to Toronto, but also esp. because my friends and acquaintances who live there still call it "The Beaches" too.

P.S. What makes a "strong local community" anyway? The residents in my neighbourhood go caroling at Xmas together, and have street BBQs every year. Is that stronger or weaker than neighbourhood flags? ;)
 
Darkstar416 said:
Agreed, but the debate is over.
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Yes and no. Apparently a large minority of the residents voted for the name "The Beaches", and it seems a lot of them still refer to it as "The Beaches" even now.

I suspect it will be a very long time before everyone has converted to "The Beach".
 
Darkstar416 said:
Agreed, but the debate is over.
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Actually, I'm not sure that's the case. When the poll was held, the BIA (in an effort to lower the stakes) was very careful to make clear that the poll was not for the purposes of deciding the name of the neighbourhood, but rather just for the purpose of deciding what would go on the streetsigns. I'm also not sure whether the informal poll has had much effect on how the rest of the City refers to the neighbourhood, which in my mind is also an important factor.

This is a neighbourhood that has been called both the Beaches and the Beach since they built the first house. I think that the debate over the name is as much a characteristic of the neighbourhood as is Kew Gardens, and I think that's a nice quirk. I think it's premature to say that the debate is over based on an informal poll undertaken by a business improvement association at one point in time in the neighbourhood's long history.

I think the previous title of "The Beach(es)" was the perfect solution. From what I can see, there is no consensus that "the debate is over". I'd switch it back.
 
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Thanks for being considerate :)

Moving along... are there any family grocers along Queen East? I'm thinking Wineva going east?
 
Darkstar416 said:
I'm wondering if the name of this thread should just be changed to "The Beach" as that is what the neighbourhood finally decided on last year. Any objections?
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I suppose if you want to get technical it should be changed to "The Dirty Lake Front", or "TDLF". Those with the obligatory "BEACH" decal affixed to the back windows of their Jeeps may complain however.
 
cgguy said:
I suppose if you want to get technical it should be changed to "The Dirty Lake Front", or "TDLF".
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The Dirty Lake Front?
 
I grew up in the Beach(es). But use(d) both descriptors.

This debate was going on in the 80s too and maybe even before then.

I love the area, it's one of my favorites in the city. It's a bit too "family" for me but it's also one of the areas where I feel the most comfortable in the city.

Growing up there in my teens I despised it however and its hopelessly bourgeois-ness.
 
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